Safety instrument-holder



W. R. HOFFMANN. SAFETY lNSTRUMENT HOLDER. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 9. 1919.

3., 348,7 8 Patented Aug. 3, 1920. I

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAFETY INSTRUMENT-HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 3, 1920.

Application filed September 9, 1919. Serial No. 322,652.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I,WILLIA1\I'R. I-IorrMANN, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at New York, in the county of New 1 ork and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Safety Instrument-Holders, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive while eflicient at.- tachment for use in connection with instruments, such as watches, pedometers, voltaIneters, ammeters, compasses, and the like as a means of positively engaging the edge of a pocket, or a belt, or a boot top or legging to prevent loss or displacement, unnecessary jarring or surreptitious removal, while permitting access without inconvenience when required, and to. this end the invention consists in a construction and combination of elements of which a preferred embodiment is herein disclosed, with due reservations as to changes in form and proportion which may be resorted to within the principles involved as defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view of the holder ap plied in operative position to a watch.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the same, detached.

Fig. 3 is a View of a modification.

Fig. 4 is a view showing a different means of attachment to the instrument casing.

Essentially, the device consists of a tongue 10, which is shown as of flat spring metal or equivalent yielding material, and means of attachment to the casing 11 of an instrument to be carried under conditions involving the risk of loss by accidental displacement or other cause, and in the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the attaching means is provided by bifurcating or longitudinally splitting the end of the strip forming'the tongue to produce the complementary jaws 12, at right angles to the plane of the tongue and having registering seats 13 for receiving the stem 14 of the instrument. The slit 15 by which the jaws are separated is preferably extended to permit of a sufficient yielding movement or spreading of the jaws to effect engagement with the stem or an equivalent object.

Between the attaching means and the opposite or free end of the tongue the latter is looped, as at 16, in a plane parallel with the tongue (or the casing to which it is attached) to extend above the uppermost point of the casing, so that when engaged with a pocket flap or wall or a belt or boot top the casing of the instrument may be wholly concealed or received behind the wall. or portion of the garment engaged by the tongue, and thus protected thereby.

This loop also adds to the resiliency of the tongue which has a spring tendency toward the plane of the casing to clamp the pocket wall therebetween, the extremity of the tongue being deflected as at 17 to facilitate engagement.

In the modification of Fig. 3 an additional cam catch 18 having a toothed member 19 substantially in the plane of the jaw 12 is employed to engage the garment, and add to the security of the device, while in Fig. 4% the holder is shown attached to the edge of the casing 20 by a screw or stud 21, it being obvious that other means of securing the de vice may be employed to suit different specific purposes and instruments.

Also, it will be understood that the eX- posed or free end or portion of the tongue may be variously formed or ornamented to afford a desirably attractive appearance.

The invention having been described, what is claimed is:

1. A safety attachment for watches, pedometers, ammeters, and similar measuring instruments having a yielding tongue and means for securing the same to an instru ment casing, one end of the tongue being slitted longitudinally and off-set at an angle to form complementary jaws having registering seats.

2. A safety attachment for watches,'pedometers, ammeters, and similar measuring instruments having a yielding tongue and means for securing the same to an instrument casing, the same consisting of a strip of yielding material slitted at one end to form transversely yielding jaws provided with registering complementary seats, and being looped at an intermediate point of its length substantially in the plane of the body of the tongue.

3. A safety attachment for watches, pe dometers, ammeters, and similar measuring instruments having a yielding tongue and means for securing the same to an instrument casing, and a supplemental cam catch mounted upon the tongue substantially in the plane of said securing means.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature.

WILLIAM R. HOFFMANN. 

